Berial



Berial was a massive lion-like centaur Demon hailing from a particularly cruel and barbaric circle of the Demon World known as the Fire Hell. The jets of flame that spout from his body protect him from the malicious attacks of others, although they are not inexhaustible, and leave him dangerously exposed when dispelled. In addition to his claws, Berial fights with a massive flaming sword, similar in appearance to a Zweihander, but his great size and strength allows him to weild it in a single claw/paw. His attacks are slow, but powerful and with great reach; two aspects which no doubt helped him to conquer the Fire Hell. Out of all the Demons of the Demon World, Berial is one of the few to have had an honor code.

Physical Appearance
Berial had the lower body of a large cat, the upper body of a Human, and the face of a cat topped with vicious horns, and he towers above the single-story houses in the battlefield. His body was black, like cooled lava, with large, wing-like jets of flame sprouting from his humanoid shoulders and more flames cascading off his tail. When his flames are extinguished, these fires disappear and the creases in Berial's body take on more of a smouldering orange glow.

The Devil May Cry 4 artbook, "Devil's Material Collection", displays several concept sketches of Berial, one of which depicts him as as a bipedal creature and another one as a creature comprised of Hellfire, inhabiting an armor, and show that he can detach and launch his head in an attack, similar to the Basilisk.

Devil May Cry 4
Berial attacks Nero in the Ferrum Hills, a deserted mining camp. He claims to have visited the human world two-thousand years ago, and never met any human like Nero except for "him", possibly indicating Sparda. After his defeat, he retreats from Nero to the demonic realm, but later returns to the Human World after Agnus opens the True Hellgate.

The next time he is seen, he is looking at the distant Savior in the sky and commenting on the ridiculousness of it. He doesn't notice Dante sitting on his tail until the Devil Hunter voices his agreement. After Berial shakes him off, he easily recognizes Dante as the infamous Son of Sparda, then claims that he will avenge his demonic compatriots slain by Dante. Though he is bested in battle, he refuses to retreat again, and launches a kamikaze attack which Dante repels. After Berial is defeated, Dante takes the Lucifer Devil Arm and destroys the Hell Gate from which Berial emerged.

Devil Trigger (DMD)
Berial can enter his Devil Trigger state in Dante Must Die when his life bar is less than 3 segments. While in his Devil Trigger state, Berial has his flames growing larger and turning purple-blue, making them harder to remove. In this state, Berial earns an increased defense, and durability. He also attacks faster and more ferocious. Some of his moves also get stronger in this state, with longer Bull Rush (known as Kamikazee) ability and more Fire Geysers.

Powers & Abilities
Berial is considered a master when it comes to Fire. With his large lion-like body, he is granted even stronger attacks and higher endurance than smaller fire Demons. He also weilds a large sword that creates an explosion upon impact.

Berial can also generate a massive fire explosion when his protection is down, restoring all his Fire. Also, he himself can turn into flames and fly, as seen in his escape to his Hell Gate.

Background
Belial is a fallen angel and one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, alongside Satan, Leviathan, and Lucifer.

Trivia

 * Berial is voiced by Larry Leong.
 * Berial shares some similarities with Cerberus. At one point makes a reference to Cerberus from Devil May Cry 3 by asking the character who, he is fighting "You are not human, are you?", similar to a line Cerberus delivers to Dante. Both Berial and Cerberus are the first bosses of their respective games, they have their elements contrasting each other, and have the recurring theme of red and blue. One is also designed after a dog while the other is designed like a cat. In addition to that, both of them died with honor, Cerberus gave his soul to Dante after he realized he was too powerful for him, while Berial decided that he cannot defeat Dante without dying himself.